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The National Weather Service on Friday extended a flood warning until Sunday evening for the French Broad River at Blantyre after 2 to 2.75 inches of rain fell Thursday and Friday on top of the already saturated surface.

The entire rain event, which began earlier in the work week, dropped 4 to 5.75 inches of rain in the county, according to the NWS.

Flood stage for the Blantyre area is 16 feet and on Friday morning, the water level crested at 17.5 feet, said Wally Hollis, Henderson County fire marshal.

County workers closed off about a dozen roads during the deluge and by Friday morning, half were reopened. The remaining roads affected by flood waters were open by the afternoon.

Roads that remained open were mostly free of ice Friday morning, with the exception of some patches of black ice, Hollis said. By afternoon, temperatures reached nearly 50 degrees under clear and sunny skies.

Initially, the NWS predicted 2 to 4 inches of snow would fall Thursday night, but by 11 p.m., the chance of snow had diminished for Henderson County, especially in the lower elevations.

The system broke up because the moisture lifted out of the area before the colder air from the north could arrive, Meteorologist Chris Horne said.

Weather still played a factor for local schools, prompting two-hour delays for Henderson and Transylvania public schools, Blue Ridge Community College, Mountain Community School, Brevard Academy and Lake Lure Classical Academy.

There were no major weather-related incidents reported and no power was lost to Duke Energy customers in the county during Thursday's storm, Hollis said.

Drier conditions will continue through the weekend, with highs around 50 degrees and a low dipping into the mid-to-upper 20s under clear skies.

<p>Thursday's storm may have not brought the wintry precipitation weather forecasters predicted, but it did cause widespread flooding for much of Henderson County.</p><p>The National Weather Service on Friday extended a flood warning until Sunday evening for the French Broad River at Blantyre after 2 to 2.75 inches of rain fell Thursday and Friday on top of the already saturated surface. </p><p>The entire rain event, which began earlier in the work week, dropped 4 to 5.75 inches of rain in the county, according to the NWS. </p><p>Flood stage for the Blantyre area is 16 feet and on Friday morning, the water level crested at 17.5 feet, said Wally Hollis, Henderson County fire marshal.</p><p>County workers closed off about a dozen roads during the deluge and by Friday morning, half were reopened. The remaining roads affected by flood waters were open by the afternoon.</p><p>Roads that remained open were mostly free of ice Friday morning, with the exception of some patches of black ice, Hollis said. By afternoon, temperatures reached nearly 50 degrees under clear and sunny skies.</p><p>Initially, the NWS predicted 2 to 4 inches of snow would fall Thursday night, but by 11 p.m., the chance of snow had diminished for Henderson County, especially in the lower elevations.</p><p>The system broke up because the moisture lifted out of the area before the colder air from the north could arrive, Meteorologist Chris Horne said.</p><p>Weather still played a factor for local schools, prompting two-hour delays for Henderson and Transylvania public schools, Blue Ridge Community College, Mountain Community School, Brevard Academy and Lake Lure Classical Academy.</p><p>There were no major weather-related incidents reported and no power was lost to Duke Energy customers in the county during Thursday's storm, Hollis said.</p><p>Drier conditions will continue through the weekend, with highs around 50 degrees and a low dipping into the mid-to-upper 20s under clear skies.</p><p>Reach Schulman at 828-694-7890 or mark.schulman@blueridgenow.com.</p>